separate the wheat from the chaff

Ср, 2004-10-13 14:48 — Fenya

separate the wheat from the chaff - отделять зерна от плевел

separate the good from the bad, the valuable from the worthless

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The expression refers to the farming practice of threshing corn in order to separate the worthless husks from the good grain. Someone who, figuratively speaking, separates the wheat from the chaff identifies what is worthwhile in an undertaking and discards that which is a waste of time. A similar allusion is used in the Bible. This time the wheat refers to those who belong to Christ and are judged worthy and the chaff to those who have rejected him and have no place in his kingdom. Luke 3:17 reads: 'His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire'.